Classic Covers: April Showers

“April Showers” by J.C. Leyendecker

April 5, 1919

This 1919 cover shows a lady prepared for a downpour, but not everyone is ready for the worst.

“Baseball Rained Out” by Charles A. MacLellan

August 4, 1917

Game called on account of wetness. The artist, Charles A. MacLellan, did almost fifty Saturday Evening Post covers and this 1917 one is a treat.

“Commuters in the Rain” by John Falter

from October 7, 1961

Making a run for it in 1961 are these commuters rushing from the train. Why does the rain on the plains fall mainly when we detrain? This was by one of our favorite cover artists, John Falter, who cheated: he painted the railroad station in Gynedd Valley, PA while it was sunny and dry.

“Cub Scouts in Phone Booth” by Richard Sargent

August 26, 1961

Somehow on their country hike, these Cub Scouts were able to use their tracking skills to find a phone booth. “We realize this is an awfully small Cub pack,” Post editors wrote, “but artist Dick Sargent simply couldn’t pack any more boys into the booth.” Good luck finding a phone booth these days, but this cover was from 1961.

“Flat Tire, Flat Evening” by Ellen Pyle

November 24, 1934

It’s raining, you are in formal wear, and a tire goes flat – anything else? Oh yes, the nearest garage is five miles away. This 1934 cover is a unique one for delightful artist Ellen Pyle; most of her Post covers were of adorable children or young ladies.

“Splashed” by John LaGatta

May 20, 1939

Stylish, willowy ladies and gorgeous colors – it must be the work of artist John LaGatta. But as we learned from the cover above, being elegantly attired tempts fate. What can be more of an affront than looking urbane and polished and getting splashed by a passing car? We have an answer below. (See more of The Elegant Art of John LaGatta.)

“Muddied by Dry Cleaning Truck” by Stevan Dohanos

October 2, 1948

Adding insult to wetness, these pedestrians are getting soiled by, what else? A dry-cleaning truck. Ever the realist, artist Stevan Dohanos followed delivery trucks around Bridgeport, Connecticut for a while in order to study “splash detail.” Once he got the technique, that twisted humor that afflicted so many of our fine cover artists kicked in and he decided to paint a truck delivering clean laundry. We’re sure it was a driver oversight and not an attempt to drum up business. For more wonderful art by this artist, see “The Great Covers of Stevan Dohanos.”

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